More than any series this season, Kakumeiki Valvrave has a penchant to deliver the unexpected and to say the most recent unveilings have defied all of my fundamental conjectures would be a blatant understatement. It’s not exactly easy to decipher everything that happened in this episode, but what I can say, with a degree of confidence, is that the latest bombshells come in twofold – first, there was a sneak peek into the future where we got a glimpse of Saki as a super-soldier and second, the first blood was finally drawn with the unfortunate demise of Sakurai Aina (Kayano Ai). Let’s start with the one that packed the starkest emotional impact – Aina’s death, and I’d be lying if I said her passing didn’t hit me like a ton of bricks. Admittedly, the prospects of mortality have always been in the cards – after all, there was the fake out with Shouko’s seeming death during the premiere. But even in a show that has already alluded to a darker premise, the utter trauma that I got from the sight of Aina’s maimed body was still ineffably alarming, especially after the heartfelt moments that she shared with Haruto this week. Her attempt to console a distraught Haruto, who remained troubled with his identity crisis, shows just what sort of person Aina is – gentle, deeply affectionate and highly amicable. No matter how harsh the reality of war may seem, it’s still unusually perturbing to see such a calamitous fate befell someone as decent as Aina, and I have a suspicion I’m not the only one who felt that way. Inuzuka Kyuuma (Ono Yuuki), who clearly has a close relationship with Aina, is not going to let this slide easily and it’s safe to say the Dorssians – in particular L-elf, are going to be a prime target for his revenge.

Speaking of L-elf, the prodigious Dorssian soldier was unmistakable a stand out in this episode. After remaining somewhat unassuming in the last two, it was merely a matter of time before he started to wreak havoc again – this time, he plans to imposed forced conscription on all of the students at Sakimori Academy. The imminent showdown between L-elf and A-drei happened sooner than I thought, and if it wasn’t already apparent from the previous episodes, their relationship is indeed, a decidedly complex one. A triple gunpoint illustrates the sheer intensity of this confrontation extremely well – A-drei still sees L-elf as his right hand and a close ally, but L-elf is evidently more interested in Haruto at the moment and he intends to win the Valvrave pilot over to his side at whatever cost. I wouldn’t be too quick to brand L-elf as a traitor of Dorssia just yet, and while it does seemed like he has switched sides, his true intention has never been quite as straightforward and what he said at this stage should probably be taken with a pinch of salt. Then there’s also the huge question mark next to the pink-hair maiden, whose role in the conflict has remained shrouded in enigma thus far. Whoever she is, that person is obviously someone who’s very important to L-elf, and for all of his seemingly dispassionate demeanor, the prodigy has shown quite an outburst of pathos at the sight of her picture – and interesting enough, such emotion appears to stem from his subconscious!

L-elf’s obsession with Haruto is more than conspicuous, but whether his counterpart shares the same sentiment or not is a subject that is not nearly as clear-cut. Haruto has maintained an awfully canny posture in his dealings with L-elf – for good reasons, of course – and I have a feeling the unintended bloodshed that just happened is not going to make the partnership any easier. Nevertheless, even Haruto would have to acknowledge the formidability of their teamwork and it was such collaboration that allowed Haruto to fend off Dorssia’s latest carnage – and saved Saki’s life in the process! For my money, the pilot of Carmilla remains the most enthralling element in the mix, and the introduction of Saki’s future self only deepens the intrigue further. While Saki has rebuffed outright the notion of any attraction to Haruto last week, the relentless fascination that she continues to shower on both Haruto and Shouko presumably, tells a different story. Then there’s the short flash-forward which has, to a certain extent, shed some light on the stakes inherent in what’s to come – it points to the existence of at least seven Valvrave pilots and an ongoing war that has persisted for a very long time! What the latest revelations mean for the overall narrative is hard to tell and your guess is probably as good as anyone’s at this stage – will there be an impending time skip and who are the remaining Valvrave pilots are just some of the questions that remained unanswered. I stand by my belief that there’s bound to be more curve balls on the horizon and while I can’t really say for certain if the latest unveilings will keep the anime connoisseurs satisfied, I commend the creators for having the audacity to take the series in a different direction – one that, hopefully, yields bountiful surprises and entertainment!

It’s pretty handy to have a vampire as a comrade. You can use him as a meat shield at any time!

“Attack of the robot… on skewers” – I really like Kaji Yuki’s performance as Q-vier. A trigger-happy lunatic shouta is definitely his strong suit!

tl;dr:@SeishunRC – #Valvrave 07: A sneak peek into the future and the first blood that has finally been drawn. Valvrave was never going to turn out to be anything conventional – not with Okouchi sensei at the helm, anyway! #Anime

I asked that same question with the Attack on Titan! series. Honestly the main guy characters are somewhat interesting. But they’re also rather irritating, Haruto to a lesser extent. But Eren’s just a generic and annoying “charge in, don’t think, plotkai has my back” dipshit.

People like Saki because she goes against the flow when everyone else follows it. She won’t be so special if everyone is against the flow. I like Saki but not to the extend that everyone else is unimportant. Everyone matters!

Maybe the writers are worried that they’ll run out of hax material to feed him if he becomes the sole focus. A little concentrated flavor is great – a lot just ruins the balance. L-Elf is best when he picks up his scheming and does something amazing every two or three episodes. At least, that’s how I see it.

Saki kicked so much ass in the opening scene. But was that really from 200 years in the future?

Golden Seven.. so 7 Valvraves? So far only 5 have been shown. Hoho my interest has peaked. Maybe they’ll go around the school to look for the rest like in Garupan. Or maybe they’re all in the hangar and the OP just didn’t show them. Either way, more kickass mechs coming up!

I was hoping for a “Shouko Revival” when Aina got blasted away but alas, it was too much to hope for :( I was starting to like her too. I mean they finally showed more of her this episode! Damn..

It’s at least 214. The story right now takes place in the 71st year of the True Era. The time skip part took place in year 214 of the Third Galactic Reich (According to subs).

As for the Satomi/Takahi scene, she was testing to see if she would feel the same way if Satomi tried kissing her as she did with SakiHaruto. Basically Haruto’s the only guy in the show who can get a girl to fall for him (even if it wasn’t really him).

Aina was too sweet, it was natural she was killed off early in the series since she had the most ties and emotional impact. The sad part is Q-Vier killed her against orders and by accident when he was trying to kill L_Elf, crazed psychopath.

Why would they even send him in a mission that required capturing Haruto and L-Elf when his first inclination so far has been to shoot first and ask questions never?

Maybe she entered the Valvrave before she died? It was weird that at first they showed her with hammer, but she was interrupted by Kaji Yuuki, so she could choose to help Haruto using Valvrave? But I’m at loss, why she exited it, but in this show I can’t expect a logic…

I found it hilarious how L-Elf kicked Haruto into the bullets and used him as a meat shield and then was like: “Hey, sorry about that! Use my body.” Really curious to know what his plans are and what his relation is to that white-haired girl… Siblings, perhaps?
Wasn’t expecting Aina to die, stupid Q-Vier, he’s probably the most annoying/unlikable of the main antagonists- and I wouldn’t be surprised that Kyuuma ends up piloting a Valvrave, it’ll make sense if he did.
Good to know that even 200 years into the future, Saki is still fabulous- kinda surprised that the war is still going though. So does the “Golden Seven” mean there are seven Valvraves? The five we know about, the one that is missing… And the inevitable mid-series upgrade?
This show just never ceases to be fun and explosive, looking forward to the next one.

Like Seishun Aina’s death took me by surprise O_O I was hoping she staggered into one of the colored valvraves, but when none of the other units activated I knew she was a goner T_T (not as bad as getting eaten by BETAs, but taking a near-hit from an HEAP round is never a nice way to go). I hope Q-vier dies a slow death in battle >.<

I don’t want to see Q-Vier dying, even though being a psycho shota is already a huge death flag. Aina’s death was an accident, she happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. None of the three realised that she was there. An accidental death is much more shocking and saddening than a character dying during the battle.

I’m just remembering how Thunder already has friends whose deaths he wants to avenge (and he was sitting in front of a makeshift graveyard back in episode 3 or so), so it’s not like her death is the first – far from it, in fact. I know there’s a distinction between background characters and supporting characters, but from my perspective it’s a much smaller gap than between supporting characters and full protagonists.
From an in-universe perspective, is her death any more tragic than the casualties from the first Dorssian attack? Because I didn’t really see people getting this worked up back then. I just wonder how Thunder would feel about the difference in reaction.

Hmm, I would also feel like praising the ceeators for trying to be unconventionnal, if not for the fact that they’re using Q-vier, easily the most stereotyped character in the show, to channel all the hate and do the dirty job of killing side characters until he meets his own demise. If anything, I feel sorry for him.
This aside, this was my favorite episode yet, and it easily propulsed Valvarave to the position of favorite show started this season (after Rainbow Live).
H-neun ( my favorite in the bishonen squad) got some quality screentime too, and you just can’t beat the excitment generated from mechas fighting each other with the op playing.

Hmm… is Q-vier really a cookie-cutter stereotype? I don’t remember when was the last time I saw a trigger-happy crazy shouta who shows absolutely no qualms at killing :x
I’m glad you like Valvrave, it’s one my favorites this season too ;)

You could even say main components of the love triangle are a cookie-cutter character types. Haruto’s the same Shinji Ikari byproduct we’ve seen a thousand times before, Shouko so far has just proven to be hot-head, and Saki’s the tsundere attention-seeking brat. Not exactly unconventional. More the opposite.

I think this marks the episode where things start moving toward more epic levels, particularly the time skip part in the beginning. That’s I don’t like calling this show a trainwreck, because even if it’s kind of illogical, it’s damn fun, especially with the direction it’s taking.

But the more important part about that is that since the other 2 Valvraves aren’t in the school module (at least, I would think L-Elf would have found them by now if they were), they’re likely somewhere else in JIOR. So the last 2 Valvraves won’t show up until much later, likely the next season. And since those 2 aren’t near the school, maybe they don’t require a student from this school, so that would be the chance for L-Elf to get into one.

It’s also fun to hear that the time skip happens in the 214th year of the Third Galactic Empire (or Reich, if you want to translate it like that), so that’s 214 years after the current time in the series. The first few seconds of the first episode mentions that the current year will be known in the future as the first and founding year of the Third Galactic Empire. Since the students’ have founded a country there, and given L-Elf’s ambitions, I’m guessing they’re country ends up being that empire.

That would be a fun, because if Haruto and all the students end up going along with the plan, we could see a major twist in the story where all these current characters end up seeming like bad guys to some other groups of people, with the seven Valvrave pilots becoming the totalitarian overlords of humanity.

Well maybe that won’t happen, but it would be interesting. Likely the Colonel Cain guy from Dorssia will be what causes the eventual Empire/Reich.

Other observations:
- I hope Haruto isn’t the person future Saki was referring to, because it’s likely a person who has passed away by that point).
- Speaking of Haruto, by my count he’s now been shot 6 times and stabbed once in the heart since the show began.
- Q-Vier has a boatload of godly karma destruction heading his way.
- I’m guessing deaths of friends are going to be what motivates each future pilot into becoming a pilot, unless L-Elf becomes one. The other exception would be Shouko, whose character I feel will only either die soon or become a pilot. I’m going out on a limb and saying L-Elf and Shouko become the pilots of the two Valvraves that aren’t in the module.
- What planet was that behind future Saki? They’re only supposed to be in the solar system in their present time, right? That kind of looked like Saturn, but it’s too reddish, so it might be another star system.

@ Tre: Valvrave pilots who rule over humanity? That would be quite a plot twist! I have a feeling the ruler of the empire would be L-elf. He’s already a super-human as he is, give him an immortal body and a killing machine – that would make him unstoppable!

I understand where you’re coming from. Aina was just there and didn’t have a presence like Shoko, Saki or even Takahi. On one hand it’s hard to feel anything for a girl who was little more than the nice kid “with glasses.”

On the other hand (me speaking personally), there’s something sad about a nice person being at the wrong place at the wrong time. If her body had been burned to ashes it might not have been as bad. Even if she had died in a blaze of glory trying to help Haruto that wouldn’t have been so bad. (She died because one dude didn’t follow orders and unintentionally killed her. I’m sure Q-Vier wouldn’t care either way, actually.) Logically, she’s no different than the other students who died during episode one but I guess it’s a little shocking because we were slowly getting to know her, even if she did raise death flags. Also her mangled corpse. It just floats there. May she rest in pieces. Er, I mean in peace…

@Da5id: Yo..you monster! XD
I kinda understand where you’re coming from, like what silver_huskey said, her presence was pretty minimal in the first six episodes so I’m not surprised there are those who couldn’t care less about her. It still sucks to see such a decent girl die though. RIP Aina :x

Yeah, but she could’ve been more than decent. She could’ve been good. I know this sounds harsh, but remember these characters are fictional, and the way to maximize the connection they have on the audience (as well as the emptiness of their loss) is to make them more prominent and relevant. Sure, she didn’t have “I AM GOING TO DIE” plastered on her forehead, but the fact that they tried to smush all of her character defining moments into one episode AND THEN killed her off immediately after shows that her whole existence was simply for shock value and that’s the cheapest route you can take with a character. It’s also one of the most common.

Also, one other note regarding the length of this series. With the time skip and other details of the story, they’ve now added enough world building to easily make 25 episodes out of it; in fact, that might be too little. Given that they announced a second season too quickly after the first one started, I think that was planned all along (separating the seasons builds anticipation).

With its popularity, I really think this show could end up being 50 episodes when all is said and done.

@Captain Sunshine: The characters have been developed quite well – we know quite a bit about Haruto, L-elf, Shouko and Saki, that should constitute as decent world-building right? Plus, the political landscape has been established and we’ve gotten a glimpse of what’s going on behind the scenes in Dorssia, ARUS and of course, Module 77 and JIOR.

Kyuuma piloting a valvrave out of revenge feels a tad too predictable. I also doubt that he will be the pilot of the blue unit. The next kit bandai will be releasing for the series is valvrave three the yellow one (i am definitely grabbing that baby for my collection) on june 8, so it’s likely they will introduce the pilot of that one first. I find it odd though if kyuuma gets to pilot this one instead of the blue unit, since he is a member of the archery club and the blue unit has bows for weapons.

I was hoping that they would put aina into a valvrave so that she could be brought back to life (and become a cute zombie/vampire pilot) but after seeing one of her arms torn off, it seems unlikely to happen.

I highly doubt thunder will be piloting the yellow unit (even if its name hikaminari roughly translates to fire thunder)

@flamerounin: I still think there’s a very good chance Kyuuma might turn out as a pilot. The setting and concept of Valvrave have always been pretty predictable from day one, it’s what happens next that are full of surprises – the first episode is a good example of that.

I can’t really say I cared about Aina’s death, she’s was irrelevant since the beginning of the show and I’d go so far as to call her fodder compared to the deaths that will come later.However, if she was the only megane in the show, I’m going to lose my shit and curse Q’vier into oblivion.

Ok, so it seems like Ichirō Ōkouchi is finally stepping up his game a little bit. I must admit, the past few episodes were directionless. I’m guessing, since Sunrise has seemingly put some degree of investment into the show, the first couple of episode were just testing the waters to see which market they can target to make the most out of it.
I have to be honest, the beginning bit of this week’s episode really felt like a classic mecha anime to me. If you take a look, there is actually so much potential to the show just from that first little bit. Here are some of the analysis that I noticed in the beginning; the setting of the fight seems to be near orbit of a different planet (most likely Jupiter), the conclusion that Dorssia Military Pact Federation is still alive and strong with new and more efficient models, the calendar dating method (though I might be wrong) is set differently than True Era, the gold on the Valverave and the pilot’s suit, the fact that the man said “Golden Seven” might indicate that there are 7 Valveraves (keep in mind only 6 have been announced, but no information has been revealed yet of Valverave II), the cooling system and some of the mech abilities that haven’t been explored in present time, the fact that Saki did not age, and of course the mysterious picture/watch and “promise” that hopes to grasp the curiosity of the viewers. Now these are only my speculations, and I’m sure there are many things that I am wrong about it, but this little bit certainly has got me hooked back on to the show.
Ichirō Ōkouchi as many of us know has worked with sunrise for many years and his most noticeable work, Code Geass, has brought much hype into this show. However, I want to take the focus off of just Code Geass, and shift the perspective to his other works, which in my opinion story wise are just as interesting. I mean this guy has worked alongside Yoshiyuki Tomino, Yutaka Izubuchi, Tensai Okamura, and many more to create some of the most innovative works in the 2000s and onwards. It’s no fluke this guy was able work on all of these successful series. There is just something different about the way his mind functions that distinct him from many other writers in the industry. With that said, I have much confidence in his skills, however as of the moment, I would not put too much hope on to this anime, simply because the high expectations always comes with a big disappointment.

Hopefully the high budget death animation of (insert name because we got almost to no character development from this person…seriously though I don’t even remember the person’s name), which I’m pretty sure was 1/5 of the episodes budget, would set a better tone for this anime.
BTW I think it’s hilarious the fact that the seiyus, who are usually noted for their main protagonist roles in other popular animes, play the secondary antagonist who gets trashed every episode LOL… H-neun prefers close combat melee, I see what you did there Setsuna :D

It was hilarious to see A-drei (Lelouch) arguing with L-elf(Lelouch 11.0) and it involving a girl who happens to be named “Light”. LOL

Also, yes the True Era years are different than the years for the Third Galactic Reich. The show starts on Year 1 of the TGR and Future Saki is at year 214 TGR. (And the planet she was fighting next to was Saturn.) ;)

Can’t say I like them teasing a 200 year time skip. The only real way I see them doing it right is if they add time travel into the plot. I just don’t see them being able to successfully close out the first season to lead into a time skip, or even worse the time skip takes place after the series, implying that it’s probably going to be a “And so our fight continues” type of ending.

I definitely liked the pacing of this episode a lot more. Mostly because it saw the fruition of something that had been bugging me since Ep 4. Turns out letting the invincible child soldier loose in your campus DOES have repercussions after all! And actually, L-Elf seems like a much more competent leader than any of the other kids.

Next there’s Saki’s follow-up concert. Didn’t think she’d get captured so easily, and even then I was sure she’d unlock that 666 thing Haruto has…but then she got saved by Haruto. I guess we’re not prioritizing character development just yet? Good thing we have confirmation that she gets better at piloting.

And then there’s Aina. I’ll be honest, I didn’t have a whole lot of attachment to this character, and the fact that they decided to cram all of her important moments into one episode AND THEN KILL HER just makes this seem emotionally manipulative. Simply having a character around to be the sacraficial lamb make people angst is the laziest way to develop a story I have seen in a long while.

The hints they laid down about L-Elf seemed pretty cool too. Apparently he works under A-Drei and has an emotional connection to pink haired girl. Hopefully this and the stuff about the mechs stays interesting, even if none of the other main characters seem to be.

I don’t see Aina’s death as a lazy way to develop the story. In fact, I’m not even sure if her death was supposed to have a prolonged emotional impact on the viewers. As I see it, the function of her death was two-fold – first, as a motivation for Kyuuma to hop into a Valvrave, second, it served as a reminder that they are indeed at war and casualties such as this can happen at at time. It wasn’t an especially complex development from my point of view and I don’t think we should put too much thought into it.

But couldn’t they have done it to someone with a little bit more presence? The reason Kamina’s death in GL or Hughes’ death in FMA were so tragic was because these were characters that had made their way to viewers’ hearts through their prolonged contribution the characters’ development. Like, if the science teacher or the bully had died, I’d have felt more because they’ve done more.

And if we’re not meant to think about it, then why kill her? Are just supposed to forget she died? Obviously not, if it’s going to be Kyuuma’s motivation to pilot.

Hmm… I suspect this is not the first death and I wouldn’t equate Aina’s demise to Kamina’s – not even close – she’s not nearly an important enough character and like I said, it doesn’t seem like her death was supposed to have any prolonged impact on the viewers. The shock value of the episode has been achieved and that’s all there is to it – for me anyway!

> Golden Seven? Can it be code for “7 Valvrave pilots?’ Rainbow colors indeed.
> Saki still beautiful after 200 years. Imortality works for our vampires.
> A promise. What can it be?

And while the old guy tells her she’s a relic(LOL at the irony), she showed that relics can still kick ass.

Warp back to present after the OP and what do you know? A-Drei lurking around, L-Elf creating chaos, and Haruto healing. Also the whole module seems to be like a factory for the Valvraves, which makes sense. But for what purpose and how did ever they gain the tech needed remains a mystery.

Anyway, looks like all Valvrave pilots seems destined to be emotional wrecks as one of the fave-to-become-pilot’s girl, Aina, got killed. With Sunrise, being Sunrise, I think a lot of people, including me, saw this happening a mile away. Hey! Sunrise pilots, babe! They’re an edgy bunch with something to fight for and a love interest’s death is not strange. For example: Rastel’s wife, Cattleya from SRW:OG.

Finally they end the show with L-Elf in tears(or at least, L-ELf’s body since it was hijacked by Haruto.) People say that the girl in the picture is A-Drei’s sister and that L-Elf was her bodyguard. Why is he crying over her picture? Is this a hint of some forbidden romance between a princess(since A-Drei is a prince and royalty, Q.E.D) and her bodyguard? Does this hint that A-Drei raving that L-Elf is his right hand has more meaning to it? So does this mean that L-Elf isn’t that stone-heart veteran we all think he is?

Expect too much out of it and it will break you instead. It’s really sad to see many people hype a show as far as the stratosphere only to end up disappointing themselves. And this happens every season. Like they can’t learn their lessons.

> But it’s not like you can blame people for getting excited or disappointed about something. Expectations and reactions are just not something you can control.

And it’s not like people are expecting this to be the best show ever, just to be consistent.

I’d concede the fact that people can’t get their emotions in line… if we aren’t humans and just a pack of wild monkeys with no control at all. Also what to expect out of an anime original doesn’t necessarily should be something like AOTY. I can see nothing gained from expecting and hyping too much other than complete disappointment when it fails you.

While if you just expect less or little:

If it fails you: “Heh, I never expected much anyway” <= Not butthurt.
If it was more than you expected: "Wow, that was better than expected! This is great" <= Not butthurt as well.

And it won't leave you thinking this season is shit, ruining all the fun you wanted out of it.

Personally, I wouldn’t force my expectations on a show, I would instead let the show tell me what to expect. And would try to understand what the writer or director is trying to convey to the audience.

But disappointed doesn’t always equal “butthurt” and expectations do not always equal hype. Plus, there ARE times when high expectations can pay off. Example: I expected a lot out of Avengers and Fate/Zero and was perfectly satisfied. Other people weren’t and I can understand their reasoning, but that doesn’t change my opinion. To stop expecting anything is the same as ceasing to care, which is just not something people can do when they’re passionate about something. The reason I watch these shows and movies and react to them the way I do, whether positively or negatively, is because I care. And if the viewers stop caring, the producers will too, and no one wants that.

I know there are people who go overboard with their reactions, but they are far from the majority, and the way to discourage that IS NOT to become apathetic or condemn expression of critical thinking, but to be critical and productive with our feelings and interpretations, while also being understanding about ones that differ.

> To stop expecting anything is the same as ceasing to care, which is just not something people can do when they’re passionate about something.

That’s not true at all. And expecting less isn’t equal to not expecting anything at all.

Consider the ff:

Fan A: > Sees Sunrise’s new anime:
> Expects mecha and students

Fan B: > Sees Sunrise’s new anime:
> Expects Code Geass Unicorn Age Destiny: Original Generation that will be AOTY

See that. If there is anything you have to be realistic about while watching anime, it should be in your expectations. Because suddenly…

> They both got Valvrave

Now who is the one disappointed here? Who got the most fun watching? Being passionate is fine and all, but since you are passionate about it you should know by now how many animes don’t really meet everyone’s expectations.

Example: AKB0048 is an idol war anime, I expected a proper war anime. Except it really doesn’t feel like war to me.

Heh, so many possibilities for what’s happening at the Dorssia’s front, the coming episode should shed some light on that – judging from the new ED, A-drei has the potential to go full-on yandere, which means there’s going to be more angsty screaming of “Eru Erufu!!!” ahead. Can’t wait :3

In the Crunchyroll subs the word used was “skewered” if that helps any. Even if that first beam probably isn’t a big deal to move (thanks to the low gravity), Haruto’s thigh has been completely impaled by a smaller beam. To be honest, “impaled” would’ve been a better word to use.

Personally I think it’s pretty obvious. The way she called out for Haruto when she was gonna “get taken home” and the elated look she had when he saved her tells me she does. Not to mention that eyes closed and looking away thing she did while saying “who cares about Haruto” last episode is a frequently used Tsundere reaction.

The whole les thing was brought on by her naming Valvrave IV Carmilla and the fact a book written in 1872 titled Carmilla had the titular character as a lesbian vampire who’s love is unrequited. Carmilla is really the only mainstream female vampire in Japan since she’s a recurring character in the Castlevania video game series, which never portrays her as a lesbian.

I noticed that as well. Maybe that is what he will look like after 214 years and after finally being motivated into fighting seriously and becoming a badass. Personally, I don’t think he will become a badass or tuly motivated into fighting against Dorissia until Shouko dies, which admittedly is perfectly fine with me. Her optimism, lack of awareness to how serious their (the school’s/nation’s)situation, her lack of understanding of how serious the war is and how a third power would change the war (for better or worse), and her strange belief that singing “Jingle Bells” would somehow solve the universe’s problems are the very traits of hers that are influencing her childhood friend the most and by extension making him come off as a pushover and a fairly weak figure as a main character/hero. With that regards, Saki and L-Elf are better influences for bringing out Haruto’s potential as a badass and epic hero; save of course for the very emotional and tragic death of his crush and childhood friend. But that is just my opinion and all the ShoukoxHaruto peeps are probably a little peeved at me now, but meh, whatevs.

And…now that we’re past the halfway point, it’s time it started to hit the fan.

At first, I thought the prologue was just Saki’s silly fantasy (completely missed the part about it being the 214th year of the 3rd Galactic Reich, of which Year 71 of the New Calander is the 1st). I wonder if this is the story of the 2nd cour, because if so, it looks quite interesting.

YAY at Thunder escaping lockdown and climbing to the 3rd floor through the power of GUTS! and teaming up with Saki to try and take L-11 down! Boo at him curbstomping them! I mean, I know this is the realistic conclusion, but I don’t really like L-11 enough to not be a little tired of him and his hax. Well, at least he (hopefully) won’t get a Valvrave; it’s already enough that he makes Haruto overpowered while possessing him, robot or not.

I’ve heard people express disappoint at Saki’s performance in her first solo battle this episode, but come on! I think it’s obvious they planned for her this time around, just like how they planned for Haruto last time around (now they’re even).

And finally…AINA! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Seriously, I was really hoping they wouldn’t do this. This is the first time her name is even mentioned in the series! And on top of that, 1.) It was very “wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time”, 2.) It was very “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it”, and 3.) HOLY CRAP, THAT WAS BRUTAL! Her arm is detached and she’s missing a chunk of her abdomen! Even if it was unintentional, how are we supposed to not hate Q-Vier for this?!

Well anyways, pilot suits next episode. Here’s hoping for Three and/or Five getting their Magius…’s? Magii? Magi? Ah, plural form of Magius!

P.S. Saki’s reactions to…
1. More “Childhood Friend closeness(TM)” between Haruto and Shoko
2. Almost being killed
3. Being saved by Haruto-L-11
…make me think that her comment last episode about “not caring about Haruto” was a fib. I am okay with this. Actually, I’m kind of happy about it (and yet, not; while I’m liking Saki more, I’m still stuck between HarutoXShoko and HarutoXSaki, since a ShokoXHarutoXSaki ending is probably impossible).

P.S.S. I’m surprised you didn’t mention this line. Senator Moses may be dead, but his spirit lives on (is what I’ve heard others pretty much say, and can, more or less, agree with):
Nanami-chan-sensei: Kibukawa-sensei! How’d you get in here?!
Kibukawa-sensei: Because I’m a physics teacher.

LOL, regarding Moses, I’ve actually made a similar quote for my “Random Tidbits” last week – I thought it would be too meta if I bring it up again. I try to keep the bullet points within ten, and unfortunately the physics teacher’s remark didn’t make the cut :x

-ok, 200 years of war… it seems being immortal has its downsides
-glimpse of the future at least (unless some drastic time-space screw occurs) gives plot armor to Saki. with mortality making it big way into the show, I dont want to lose her…
- http://randomc.net/image/Kakumeiki%20Valvrave/Kakumeiki%20Valvrave%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2004.jpg Valvrave bio-production? A-3 definitely stumbled upon some interesting info here
- http://randomc.net/image/Kakumeiki%20Valvrave/Kakumeiki%20Valvrave%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2007.jpg Saki discovers the limits of playing with someone leses body
-http://randomc.net/image/Kakumeiki%20Valvrave/Kakumeiki%20Valvrave%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2011.jpg all good coups d’etat start with controlling information – though a bit of bondage helps too!
-http://randomc.net/image/Kakumeiki%20Valvrave/Kakumeiki%20Valvrave%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2020.jpg Q-4 (Cuvier? stealth pun?) is becoming my fave psycho shota… (but see later comment)
-the extent to which L-11 managed to foresee flow of battle makes him a rare anime creature indeed, a master strategist in the vein of Grand Admiral Thrawn
-http://randomc.net/image/Kakumeiki%20Valvrave/Kakumeiki%20Valvrave%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2020.jpg WHAM! the mangled body of nice, good-hearted girl erases all my nice feelings towards Q-4

Oh man, I love your comments, they’re hilarious – so that’s why L-elf kept Akira alive LOL
I wouldn’t call L-elf a rare being in anime though – in fact, considering how omnipotent he is, he’s the kind of character that can only exist in anime. And that, of course, makes him a blast to watch, badass-Eru Erufu!!! XD

When that old guys said to Saki’s future that she was one of the Golden 7. I got curious check their official site & found something interesting! There are 7 Valvare in total but the the only once that appear are:

So Valrave 2 & 7 still hidden some where to be discovered, base from the what the old man said all 7 became legends…. I still wondering who will pilot the reaming Valrave specially 2 & 7 I guessing L-Elf might be come a pilot.

I really wish this death flag wasn’t so obvious. She had more lines in this episode then she had in the others so I could see it coming…despite not wanting to. Again, even though this has been said multiple times….why can’t there ever be a society composed of highschool students that ever works out? THat includes the antagonist group (well at these those group of soldiers).

At first I was all for L-Elf getting a Valvrave of his own. The more I think about it, the more I begin to wonder if he’d simply be too overpowered. He’s already a one-man killing machine who has no qualms about overkill. In a mech he might be unstoppable (not to mention an immortal body-hijacker), unless there was a foe who’s ruthlessness and intellect matched L-Elf’s. Maybe it’s best for now if he was relegated to mission control.

Even with my frustration about how his absurdly effective tactics/foresight/whatever would make him too overpowered, part of me wants him to be a last minute addition to the Valvrave party. He’d be like that one character you’ve wanted to have at your side in the group all along but can’t actually join you until near the endgame.

While I was waiting for this post to go up on RC, I hung out for a bit on MAL. (The discussion here is so much more enjoyable) but someone at MAL did mention Saki’s promise might have been to Shoko. I kind of hope not because that would mean our quirky girl dies at some point. I’d rather see Shoko pilot a Valvrave just because she’s so out there and unconventional– kinda like this show! (Logic, who the hell needs that?!)

That said, I’m going to sit back and continue to see how this plot unfolds. I knew this show would be taking a turn for the darker very soon, so I just going to enjoy it. (Though I hope we don’t have to witness any more deaths like Aina’s for a while.)

Hmmm… I have a feeling future-Saki was referring to Aina in that locket-scene, but who knows, it could be Shouko – it’s almost impossible to predict what’s coming next for this show!
I’ll be honest, I really hope L-elf gets a Valvrave of his own. I share your concerns about making a character all too powerful, but the thought of having a badass like Eru Erufu in a mecha is just not something that I’m willing pass up on – it would be such a blast! :3

The roundabout 200 year time skip in the prologue definitely threw me for a loop. I knew we were getting a time skip for season 2, but I was never expecting we’d be getting hints of what to expect from it in the first season nor how big a time skip it’s going to be. Gundam Age eat your heart out!

Evidently, the prologue into the future offers good insight into how the rest of season one will play out and what the world of Valvrave is shaping up to become. The Dorssians are still at war against the Valvraves, who appear to have formed a group called the Golden Seven which implies existence of two more Valvraves. Saki is still alive and looking better than ever, implying that Magius are also immortal in the “don’t age” sense, so that means that most likely only the Valvrave pilots are guaranteed to survive the first season and Haruto is probably heading the Golden Seven. Saki also seems to have mellowed out a little, though 200 years of life will probably do that to you, and is keeping a promise to someone very important to her. The closest thing to a promise she’s made so far is the one with Haruto though I doubt that’s the one she was referring to. I’m willing to bet the promise was with either Haruto or Shouko, though the fact that she apparently keeps their picture in a locket doesn’t imply a very good fate befell them after they made the promise. Once again Valvrave throws a curve ball at us, and I’m curious to see if they’ll be any more glimpses into the future before the first season ends.

I think dark times are ahead for the cast, especially Haruto as he gets more and more entrenched with L-Elf. The more L-Elf proves himself right and impresses Haruto, the more I can see Haruto’s idealism and resistance towards working with L-Elf slowly crumbling away. I wouldn’t be surprised if the first season ends with Haruto a broken shell of who he was at the beginning of the series and ready and willing to follow L-Elf’s commands to the letter, though I honestly hope that isn’t the case.

I wonder what the true love triangle of this series is, Shouko and Saki for Haruto or Haruto and A-Drei for L-Elf? In all seriousness though, Saki seemed a little jealous of the Haruto/Shouko moments in the episode and even called out for Haruto when she was in danger. Maybe his trying to save her last episode after she messed with his life earned Haruto some affection points?

RIP Aina. I can’t say she was my favorite character, let alone one I really connected with, but I admired her optimism and kindness. She did not deserve that gruesome a death. I just wish Sunrise had been a little bit more subtle with all of her death flags. And I feel it was just a little bit too soon, especially when they were just establishing her as a member of Haruto’s harem. As for Kyuma, I have to give him props for being fine with Aina liking Haruto when he may have had feelings for her too. Though now that she’s dead, all bets are off and I can see a Valvrave with his name on it…

Poor Satomi. No one truly acknowledges his authority and Takahi prefers Saki!Haruto. C’mon Sunrise, it’s doubtful he’s going to survive the series anyhow so at least let him be a little lucky…

With Satomi’s issues with power control, I think Kibukawa Sensei is officially the show’s new “Only Sane Man,” and he’s all the more awesome for it. Seriously, a Physics teacher who can insult your plans without seeming mean and can even get out of a trap set by L-Elf is just what this show needed.

I have to confess, I was disappointed by the action in this episode, especially the fight between Haruto and H-Neun. It was just a little too slow for my tastes compared to the awesome fast-paced battles in previous episodes, and made even worse because they had Preserved Roses playing in the background and nothing really exciting to go along with it. Hopefully it’s just a matter of them saving their budget for more important fights and that the next episode will be an improvement.

I have a feeling the person future-Saki was referring to is Aina. Those two were pretty tight and given what happened to Aina in this episode, I wouldn’t be taken aback if she chooses to keep a picture of her deceased friend in a locket – just a hunch, of course ;)

It’s happening… The harvest time, that is…
The seeds of suffering planted on the virgin New JIOR soil sprouted, grew unnoticed to be finally harvested by the Grim Reaper who happened to be Q-Vier. ;.; Should I be saying ‘sasuga Sunrise!’ now? But more like with a distraught face and tear-filled vision.

This episode is the turn for the grimdark and I’m already fretting over what lies ahead.

So much, SO MUCH A-Drei suffering that is becomes unbearable! Poor, poor A-Drei… Ç_Ç L-Elf broke their pact and A3 losing sight in the eye didn’t serve as a sacrifice of any sort, it was just pointless. FukuJun’s ‘yurusu’ was … glorious and tragic. T✧T I don’t want to see any more A-Drei suffering, spare him Sunrise!

The scene with HaruElf crying in the cockpit was…beautiful and heart-rendering. That photo… I felt like crying looking at the girl (Licht?) as well.

There is a lot of foreshadowing in the ending animation and a death flag upon a death flag… Somebody convince me that Cain is not the main boss and the Hitler Youth do not win whatever is the highest prize please! Please!

Man, I kinda feel for A-drei too. That guy has had it rough – first losing an eye and now his best friend has seemingly betrayed him. With all that pent-up angst, I’m surprised he didn’t go rampant with his screaming of “Eru Erufu!!!” this week XD

Pilots probably inject something into their victims to gain control of their bodies. I’m betting it’s this substance that the Valvrave is looking for when identifying who is the pilot. Did you see episode 1 when that blood cell changed color?

Which makes it dangerous: people would have just identified and replicated the substance, inject it into themselves and steal the Valvrave. Profit.

It’s actually quite funny. Normally you would see a delinquent bullying others and always getting his way, but Thunder fails miserably each time he has a face off with anyone, be it ‘Moses’, L-Elf or Dorssian soldiers. Breaks the convention I think.

I’m not sure what to make of Thunder/Raizou just yet – he seems more like a comical element of the show at this point, but not an especially interesting one. If he is indeed a potential Valvrave pilot like many suspect, he’ll probably get a proper introduction soon enough and I hope he makes a stronger impression then :3

“By the way, I was reading the cast comments, and apparently the dialogue track of VVV is prerecorded, that is, the cast records the dialogue before the scenes are animated, which is not common in anime. To be honest, I wouldn’t have thought.” guote(kuromitsu)

I reviewed the episode again and saw debris within the hangar to be floating around. Hence it is impossible that Haruto’s leg got crushed by that metal beam.

Even if the beam settled at Haruto’s leg, since there is no gravity, there is no way L-Elf couldn’t lift that beam; a frail person could easily give a slight force upwards for the beam to accelerate away.

In space, the chances of moving objects coming to a complete standstill within a short time-frame like how it is depicted in this episode is impossible. The picture showed 2 beams. Even if I give the benefit of the doubt to the animators and allow one of the beams to pierce Haruto’s leg and into the surface underneath (pinning haruto into the ground), the beam parallel to the surface (the one that seems like it’s trapping Haruto) should not be stationary.

Let’s say that huge beam blew off somewhere. Whenever it collides with a surface, velocity is lost in the form of sound, and possibly light if the impact created a strong enough frictional force. However, there’s no way the beam can become completely stationary as the animation depicts. Velocity cannot deplete to zero through collisions in space, because the energy lost through collision is always proportional to the momentum of the object (ex: 10% of energy is lost when it collides; 10% of a value cannot be 0 unless the value was 0 in the first place); Thus the beam could not be laying on top of Haruto’s leg like that.

Anyway I just thought they made a pretty funny mistake that will serve as a physics fail for some laughs.

Valvrave’s history will be explained in two cours… the fisrt the creation of the libertator side, with the power of the Valvavres, this stupid school stuff… and the second will be the crash against the empire.
Only a few characters will survive… the Valvrave users… from the units not showed… they won’t until the very end… or maybe in the second cour…
Haruto… Saki… L-Elf… Kyuma and Akira…
Shouko’s death at the end of the fisrt cour will make Haruto to lead the liberation faction… I see so many similarities with Code Geass…